The Monochrome Angel
by Deception's Call
Summary: AU. Katniss Everdeen never thought she'd be sentenced to death for murder. And she definitely didn't think that FBI detective Peeta Mellark would steal her heart. DISCONTINUED.
1. Prologue

**I seem to have thing habit of having two ongoing multi-chapter fics going at once. And since 'A House Of Cards' is at least 7 chapters away from its end, I felt like writing something new (:**

**This idea popped into my head when I was preparing my dinner, and I loved it so much that I've decided to pursue it. **

**Dear 'House of Cards' readers, this fic will not get in the way of my updating. Just want something new to write(:**

**This is purely the prologue, just to get things started and to see if this story is well received (: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games or the characters…unfortunately. **

**And without much further ado…**

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**- prologue -**

It was dawn.

And his blood was on her hands.

Her feet were hitting the concrete pavements of New York in rapid speed. She didn't know what came over her, it was like she was possessed. She would never _ever _do something like that to him.

Because she was Katniss Everdeen, and she loved him.

But lately, he was becoming so distant, so violent. He would lash out at her every so often, she would always have to hide her new bruises from the members of the Careers.

She ran with her head pounding and wearing her heart on her sleeve.

She kept running, she never stopped running.

Her parents had died in a car accident when her mother was pregnant – they were pronounced 'dead on arrival.'

Ever since then, she had moved from orphanages to foster homes – she always rebelled, and she never stayed very long before she was sent back to the orphanage.

It can be said that she was a troubled child. But even that would be an understatement.

When she turned eighteen, she was kicked out of Memorial Cross' orphanage, and was forced to find work and fend on her own.

She had been okay at first, but her troubled nature came rushing back to her like a tidal wave, and she eventually met _him _at a bar down the street from her run-down apartment.

_He _was a member of 'the Careers' – an elite group that dealt with smuggling drugs in and out of the country.

She was infatuated with him. She was absolutely infatuated with him and the adrenaline she would feel once she would get her hands on those drugs and the money that came with dealing them.

They spent countless nights on her sofa together, making love and being themselves.

She wasn't perfect, he wasn't either. They weren't well-off, but they were okay. They'd always be okay.

At least, until _she _joined.

It all went downhill after that. He'd abandon her in meetings to sit next to her, he would be spiteful, he would reject her seduction that he would so often succumb to.

She had never felt more lonely.

The day that she snapped was the day that he hit her for the very first time.

He had stormed out and left her crying on the ground against their bedroom wall.

But she stuck with him, she stuck with him through his beatings because she loved him. She swore that she would never leave him because he was the only one that made her feel wanted – that made her feel _loved. _

Katniss Everdeen didn't want to be lonely anymore.

But here she was, in her apartment, scrubbing the remains of his blood off of her hands with tears running down her face.

She was alone, again.

Her hair was matted against her skin, and her bitten-down fingernails were encrusted with dried blood.

Katniss could not seem to get the blood off of her hands.

Her salty tears weaved their way down her olive-toned face, her clothes were ripped and she was sure that she looked like a mad woman.

And perhaps, she was.

As quickly as the night seemed to have gone by, there was a knock on the door.

Katniss braced herself, she didn't know who it might be. It could be anyone.

Her heart pounded against her chest as she approached the door.

And with the turn of a knob, her life changed forever.

"Katniss Everdeen, you are under arrest for the murder of Cato Mathers."

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**Okay so this is the basic outline of the plot. Gives slight background and it will be slightly OOC. **

**This is the first time I'm doing an AU, so bear with me (:**

**Anyways, I'm not sure if I should take away the last line and leave it with the 'her life changed forever' or keep the speech. **

**-**_**this is the working title -**__** title is subject to change-**_

_**Chapters will range from 2,000 – 4,000 words, this is short because it's only the prologue.**_

**This is definitely an EVERLARK story (:**

**So thank you for reading and reviews are appreciated (: Let me know if you want me to continue!**


	2. Chapter 1

**So guuuyyys that response was amazing. 20 alerts, 9 favorites and 6 reviews? Well I might say that's pretty awesome. **

**Anyways, so obviously I'm continuing the story then. **

**Things won't be completely accurate, because 1: I don't live in New York or in the USA at all. And 2: I want things to go my way.**

**Everything is already planned out and let me tell you…**

…**this fic's gonna be a hell of a ride!**

* * *

**- one -**

"Katniss Everdeen, age 20, convicted for the murder of Cato Mathers, the court has sentenced you to death on May 3rd, 2012."

And with that, the judge dismissed the court.

Katniss Everdeen was many things. She was a former smoker, drug addict, and much more. But if she was something – she wasn't a murderer.

But apparently, she was.

Draped in monochromatic black and white stripes, with handcuffs locked tightly around her wrists, she was led out of the double doors of the courtroom and was led through a series of hallways.

"Where are we going?" she asked the guard.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes. Katniss knew that she disgusted him.

"_You _are going to meet the detective that's been assigned onto your case."

She furrowed her eyebrows and shifted her handcuffs uncomfortably. "But I thought that my case was dismissed, they said the evidence was too strong and that I had no chance for a plea."

He sighs, and she notices the name on his tag – _Mitchell._

"You don't. But the FBI has been assigned onto your case. And Chief Boggs told me that the FBI has an offer than they'd like to negotiate with you."

"Do you know what it is?" Katniss asks.

Mitchell shrugs, "Honestly Everdeen, I have no idea."

They turned to another hallway, and unlike the others, this was dimly lit, with the fluorescent ceiling light flickering every so often. The door windows were barred shut, and the walls were pure chalk white. It resembled an asylum.

Katniss let her eyes roam the corridor. A small shiver tingled down her back.

"What is this place?"

"This is the place where all highly regarded officers make confidential meetings with prisoners. Which…is you."

Katniss looks down at her worn out black boots and shakes her head slightly. She still couldn't believe that this was all happening to her. Oh, how the matrons at the orphanage would be laughing at her now. Katniss Everdeen, the girl with the fire burning in her soul, locked up with her flame slowly dying out.

Mitchell sticks out his hand and halts her.

"This is it," he places his hand on the knob, but before he opens the door, he stares at Katniss directly.

"Look…I don't like you. But you seem to be remorseful; I can't say that I've met a lot of people who are. But a little piece of advice – _do not argue with this guy._"

He flicks his wrist and the door is pushed open.

"Go on," Mitchell urges.

Katniss gazes into the room. Silence echoes off the walls. A dim yellow ceiling lamp lights up the centre wooden table.

"Where is he?"

"He's coming."

Katniss scoffs, "Not very punctual then."

Mitchell rolls his eyes, "Just go in Everdeen, and remember what I said."

She's nudged into the room, and the door slams behind her.

It's a dark room, with beige walls and a brown table in the centre, the chairs were maroon and the ceiling lamp was a pale yellow.

Ever since that day that she was convicted in her apartment, she knew that her life was over. The life that she knew, the life with the small apartment, group meetings, drug dealing, it was all over.

But she couldn't seem to decide whether that was a good thing or not. But it doesn't matter anymore, she'd spend the remaining five months of her life in a prison cell, before her sentence in May.

She traced the table in the room, walking alongside it with her fingers gently running along.

Her parents – she remembered – had a lovely wooden dining table in their house. Katniss hasn't thought of them much since she met Cato.

She found that she was hating herself for forgetting.

While she was thinking, she didn't notice that there was already someone in the room with her.

"Ms. Everdeen, I would be pleased if we can get this meeting started."

Katniss jumped and she felt her heart palpating against her chest.

She turned around, and was met with the most clear, beautiful and bluest eyes she had ever seen. Bluer than Cato's had ever been.

She found that her breath was stuck in her throat.

"Oh, yes, sorry."

He nodded his head curtly and pulled the seat out for her. Katniss sat down and watched him sit opposite her.

He had messy blonde hair, almost like a vibrant gold, with blue eyes with the colour of the clearest and cleanest ocean, and a broad frame.

He was wearing a black coat, with a black suit and a dark blue dress shirt underneath with two of the top buttons undone.

"My name is Peeta Mellark, I'm the FBI detective that's been assigned to your case."

_Peeta, _Katniss thought. It was an unusual name, and it sounded much like the bread that her mother craved when she was pregnant.

Katniss stares at him directly in the eye. "They told me that I had no plea. They didn't even give me a proper trial with a jury. They took me in and told me my sentence, and that was it."

Peeta blinks and opens his briefcase, taking out a file that was labelled _'Everdeen, Katniss.'_

He opens it and skims through the pages while Katniss continues to watch him.

He was handsome, but even though he was making her an offer, she knew that he was still repulsed by the thought of what she did. They always were. They always waved her off, and they always looked at her with disgust. She was sure that this man was no different. And she hates him for it.

She watches as Peeta takes out a piece of paper and she catches his eye.

"I must say Ms. Everdeen –"

"Katniss," she interrupts.

"Kaniss," Peeta imitates, "Well Katniss, you've had a rough life according to your file. Lost both your parents and your unborn sister in a car accident, you've transferred to multiple orphanages around the city many times and been to more than four foster homes since you were five."

"It's not the life that I would've chosen, but I didn't really get a choice," Katniss says.

Peeta looks at her, and says, "We may not get a choice in life, but we do get a choice in what we do with it afterwards.

"And what you did with yours…is very interesting."

She gazes at Peeta as leans back in his chair. He folds his arms and she watches the fan in the corner of the room spin round and round.

"I have a proposition you might be interested in," Peeta says as he leans forward.

Katniss raises an eyebrow, and asks, "What is it?"

Peeta sighs and stands up, leaving Katniss to watch him pacing around the room.

"You've been involved with the Careers, am I right?"

Katniss nods.

"The FBI has been after that group for a very long time. They're notorious for drug smuggling, and Cato, you're ex-boyfriend, was involved along with you.

"Despite the strong evidence that the court has against your case, you will get a proper hearing if you agree to assist the FBI by informing us about the Careers and by helping us find them."

Katniss didn't need to think twice.

"Yes," she breathes, "Yes I'll help you."

Peeta's lips upturn into a small smile. Katniss begins to scratch the finely carved wood of the table.

"Mr. Mellark –"

"Peeta, call me Peeta. I hate formalities."

She plays with her long tousled braid that's hung over her should and debates whether she should ask or not.

"What did you want to ask?" Peeta inquires with a quirked eyebrow.

"I just…I just wanted to know what evidence they found."

Peeta lets out a shaky breath and sits back down in front of her. He purses his lips and retrieves two clear plastic bags labelled _'Evidence: 1' _and _'Evidence: 2.'_

He flips through her file once again and pulls out a smaller folder of photos. He slides one across to her. Katniss picks it up gently and covers her gasp with her hand.

The photo was of Cato, sprawled on the ground with three evident stab wounds on his abdominal area. He was pale, with his blue eyes wide open and blood dripping down his chin. He looked like a corpse.

She looked up to see Peeta looking at her with a weird expression etched onto his face. He almost looked…sorry?

She shoves the photo away from her.

"Take it away."

Peeta carefully tucks the photo back into its file and places the plastic bags in front of him.

"I believe that you're familiar with Officer Mason and Chief Boggs."

"Yes," she murmurs quietly.

"They told me that you were wearing a ripped shirt with the same material as the ripped piece of cloth found beside Mr. Mathers."

Katniss peeks over to the bags, and indeed, there was a piece of her pale blue shirt. And beside it, was the bloodied dagger used to kill Cato.

"The evidence is strong not only because this piece of fabric was found at the scene, but also because the weapon had your fingerprints and his blood. It was clear who committed the crime."

She scoffs and turns away from him.

Peeta continues, unfazed, "But your medical examination diagnosed you with high amounts of toxins in your body system. And according to your file, you have been an avid drug user since you joined the group when you were eighteen.

"But your claim when you were first brought into the station was that you had not done any drugs that week, because of your common arguments with Mr. Mathers."

"I know Peeta. Where are you headed with this?" Katniss says.

"What I'm saying is that I think you were drugged and that you were set up."

* * *

**Heh. Not the best chapter. I only usually write third person for my one-shots, but I thought I'd try it for this one. I just need to figure out which tense I'm going to use. I'll let you guys know when I figure it out. **

**Short. Very short chapter just to get things rolling. Next will be much longer cause things have finally kicked off. **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading (:**

**reviews motivate to update. (: -Deception's Call**


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